Whether Ukrainian drones can fly today depends on whether two Americans have made a phone call.
According to Reuters, Trump told reporters at the White House tonight (October 23): if Ukraine is still having problems with Starlink, “I’ll get it straightened out.”
Nice words—but then he added a dose of reality: he hasn’t called Musk yet.
Ukrainian officials publicly called him out today: the speed restrictions are still in place, contradicting the president’s earlier claim that service had been “fully restored.”
The restrictions began on October 13, after relations between the US and Ukraine soured. Frontline internet speeds have thus become a remote control in Washington’s hands.
Trump also gave Musk a vote of confidence: “Elon will never do anything wrong. I know him very well. He’s a decent person.”
In other words: the call hasn’t happened, but the guarantees are already out.
To me, the absurdity here isn’t the speed restrictions. It’s that a country’s battlefield communications system has its on-off switch in the hands of a private company.
The president first denied it, then promised to “make a phone call”—which amounts to admitting outright that Ukraine’s frontline internet is plugged into someone else’s router.
After all these years of modern warfare, maybe the biggest lesson is this: whoever controls the satellites controls the frontline.
So what do you think—is Musk “decent,” or should we feel sorry for Ukraine?
Starlink Ukraine Trump Musk
#俄乌战争 #Starlink
According to Reuters, Trump told reporters at the White House tonight (October 23): if Ukraine is still having problems with Starlink, “I’ll get it straightened out.”
Nice words—but then he added a dose of reality: he hasn’t called Musk yet.
Ukrainian officials publicly called him out today: the speed restrictions are still in place, contradicting the president’s earlier claim that service had been “fully restored.”
The restrictions began on October 13, after relations between the US and Ukraine soured. Frontline internet speeds have thus become a remote control in Washington’s hands.
Trump also gave Musk a vote of confidence: “Elon will never do anything wrong. I know him very well. He’s a decent person.”
In other words: the call hasn’t happened, but the guarantees are already out.
To me, the absurdity here isn’t the speed restrictions. It’s that a country’s battlefield communications system has its on-off switch in the hands of a private company.
The president first denied it, then promised to “make a phone call”—which amounts to admitting outright that Ukraine’s frontline internet is plugged into someone else’s router.
After all these years of modern warfare, maybe the biggest lesson is this: whoever controls the satellites controls the frontline.
So what do you think—is Musk “decent,” or should we feel sorry for Ukraine?
Starlink Ukraine Trump Musk
#俄乌战争 #Starlink